DeBriefing
by Magick Starr
Summary: Nikki and Di having differing opinions in a de-briefing.


A/N: Song is Eric Clapton's 'Tears in Heaven'. Enjoy.

* * *

Di reached up to brush her eye lightly as she felt a tear escape it. She didn't do tears, especially not in front of Nikki Wright, of all people. "I'm fine, really I am." She repeated.

"PC Noble, you were attacked; it's perfectly normal to feel shook-up."

"Sarge, with all due respect, I wasn't attacked."

"You were cornered in an alley by a convicted rapist!" Nikki exclaimed, becoming more than a little irritated as Dianne's constant rebuffing of anything that remotely hinted she was in any kind of danger.

"Yes, and he didn't lay a finger on me."

"He could have!" The sergeant sighed. "You placed yourself in danger, PC Noble, and until you accept that I'm not willing to put you out on patrol again because you could end up reckless and a danger to both you and your partner."

"I'm perfectly capable to do my job, Sarge." Dianne replied indignantly. The earlier trace of tears long gone.

"I'm not convinced you are." Nikki replied bluntly. "You've got some leave due, I suggest you take it."

"I've just come back from leave, Sarge."

_Would you know my name_

_  
If I saw you in heaven? _

Nikki glanced back down to her file open infront of her. "Oh, of course, you went to spend time with your son, I believe?"

The PC merely nodded.

"Well, I feel it would be best for you to take the rest of the week off, at least. You were only meant to be in another two days anyway." She commented matter-of-factly.

"Do I have a choice in the matter?"

"No."

_Would you feel the same_

_  
If I saw you in heaven?  
_

Dianne nodded her head sharply and rose from the desk. "Right."

Nikki sighed; before she could protest the brunette had left her office and was probably on her way to the locker room. Or, alternately, to dispute her decision with Callum. With Dianne's determination and sheer stubborn nature, Nikki feared it would be the latter.

* * *

The brunette PC threw her last remaining piece of uniform into her locker with deliberate force; she had to admit: the feeling was therapeutic. Slamming the small metal door shut, she was startled to see Jo standing watching her from the doorway. She winced. "Sorry."

"Bad day?" Jo queried.

"Yep. Sergeant Wright's ordered me to take the week off." She informed.

"To get over the attack from today?"

"How many times? It wasn't an attack." Dianne replied sternly before pausing. "Sorry. She thinks I'll be a danger to the team." The brunette added.

"Right." Jo let the silence drag on briefly, unsure of quite what to say back to that. "You wanna go for a drink?"

Dianne paused; nodded; and followed the DC silently out. It was only when they'd exited the locker room and reached the front desk that she stopped and broke the silence. "I better hand this in." She commented, holding up the badge she'd been fiddling with. Jo nodded before taking a seat and watching as Dianne made her way back down the corridor.

_I must be strong and carry on_

_  
Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven..._

Swallowing hard, she knocked on the door. The blonde sergeant looked up and nodded. Dianne took that as her cue to enter.

Shutting the door behind her, she stood in front of the desk. She paused for a moment, waiting for Nikki to finish the sentence she was writing. The blonde put the pen down and looked up. "Let me guess, you've spoken to Sergeant Stone and he's allowing you to carry on working?"

"No. I came to give you this." Dianne replied, placing her badge on the desk.

Nikki tilted her head slightly. She had to admit, that was the last thing she'd expected. "Come in on Tuesday; normal time, and I'll talk to you about this then and see if you're ready to come back."

Dianne nodded; defeated.

_Would you hold my hand_

_  
If I saw you in heaven?  
_

"How'd it go?" Jo finally questioned, setting two glasses of white wine down on the small round table. She'd almost asked during the car journey, but the deathly glare on Dianne's face had told her that would be a bad idea. The addition of alcohol to the mix had seemed to have softened her expression, slightly. Jo only hoped that when the wine hit her lips it would soften even further; or this may end up a difficult afternoon.

"She told me to come in on Tuesday."

Jo twitched her lips slightly. "That's only 6 days, I guess." She commented after some quick mental arithmetic. "Not too bad."

"It is when that's not a definite day to start work again. She's going to 'see if I'm ready to come back', which I take it means she'll think about it and say no. If she had her way I'd never be back in the station; I bet."

"She's not heartless, Di! She won't be enjoying stopping you work. She'd only do it if she thought it was for the best. She'll let you come back when she thinks you're ready."

Dianne nodded weakly, drifting off into her head once again.

_Would you help me stand_

_  
If I saw you in heaven? _

* * *

"I'll pick you up tomorrow, take you down the station and we can pick up your car; then you come straight back, okay?" Jo repeated for what Dianne estimated as the seventh time. But with the level of alcohol she'd drunk and the fact she was struggling to stand up straight and her companion had just had to open her own front door for her, the PC couldn't be sure she wasn't over-estimating.

"I ge it, I ge it. In, oowt. Ge the car, then stray oowt."

Jo frowned, translating the drunken slur to: 'I get it, I get it. In, out. Get the car, then straight out.' She sighed. "I just hope you're sober by then." She muttered to herself before helping the brunette into her house. "I'll pick you up at 8." She concluded before walking back out the front door and closing it behind her, leaving Dianne curled up on the sofa.

_  
Ill find my way through night and day_

_  
Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven..._

* * *

Nikki looked up from the file and her copy of her notes from the debriefing a week ago. "Are you sure, PC Noble?"

"With all due respect, Sarge, I think I know more about myself than you do. I was fine last week and, yes, I was a tad free-spirited,"

Nikki cut in. "I'd say free-spirited is an understatement. You were reckless."

Dianne took a long breath; anger wouldn't get her anywhere. "Ok. Understood. But I do feel that I've had time to clear my head and that I'm ready to come back to the job. Safely." She added.

Nikki paused. "Is that in accordance to the safety of the team or your own personally safety?"

Dianne twitched, softly biting her lip. "The safety of the team?" She replied hopefully.

"And you feel your own safety isn't important?"

Dianne looked down to the file, circling her jaw. "So, my own personal safety?"

"So the safety of the team isn't important to you?"

Dianne sighed. "Is there a right answer, here, Sarge?"

_Time can bring you down; time can bend your knees_

__

Time can break your heart, have you begging please...begging please

Nikki smiled. "This isn't about getting questions right or wrong, PC Noble. It's about me finding out whether or not you're fit to work."

"With respect, Sarge, I've already told you I'm fit to work."

"And that's what I'm having trouble with. You thought you were fit to work a week ago; and I'm certain you weren't. I'm just not sure whether you really are now or not."

Dianne took in yet another deep breath, relenting resentfully. "I can see that I wasn't fit to work last week, now. I was stressed and I didn't appreciate someone telling me I wasn't able to do my job properly. Now I can see you were right about that. But I'm certain that I'm perfectly capable now. I respect both my own safety and that of the team's with equal importance."

_  
Beyond the door there's peace I'm sure_

_  
And I know there'll be no more tears in heaven...  
_

Nikki considered this briefly before opening her top draw, taking out the brunette's badge and placing it on the desk. "Make sure I don't have reason to take it off you again, Di." She concluded.

She smiled, picking up the badge and walking towards the door. It had been a long time since Nikki had called her Di. "Thanks, Nikki."

The blonde looked up from her desk and flashed her a smile.

_  
Would you know my name_

_  
If I saw you in heaven?_

* * *

"Everything go alright today?"

The brunette felt her breath catch in her throat. "Nikki, I didn't hear you there."

"Sorry."

Dianne paused, pulled a top over her head and turned around to face her sergeant. "Yes, I think it did. I take it you asked Tony the same question?"

Nikki looked down awkwardly, "I don't want you to feel I'm checking up on you…"

"No, it's okay, I understand."

Nikki smiled. "Yes, I asked him; and he told me it went very well and that there was nothing for me to be worried about as far as you're concerned."

_  
Would you feel the same_

_  
If I saw you in heaven? _

Di smiled. "Good."

"Drink?"

Dianne felt herself relax a little more. "That'd be good."

_  
I must be strong and carry on_

_  
cause I know I don't belong here in heaven..._


End file.
